Potterton Precision Condensate Pipe

[Monkey Wrench]

A customer has recently purchased a new house and wants to temporarily install a washing machine into the same room containing the Potterton Precision System boiler and where, conveniently, the mains water stop tap is located. I've tapped into the mains water and provided a cold feed for the washing machine but when I went to sort out the waste water outlet I encountered a problem. I cut into the 40mm condensate waste pipework from the boiler (which runs to a drain) and found the pipe was full of a plastic coated wadding !?
The wadding is almost the same diameter as the internal diameter of the waste pipe and I haven't a clue why it's there, the purpose it serves or how on earth the condensate has been draining (pictures attached).

Can anyone please enlighten me, thank you.

 

[Scott_D]

Pipe insulated within a pipe?

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Pipe insulated within a pipe?

Thank you for the response scott_d, thats certainly something I'd not considered, but why ? The pipe run's in the same room as the boiler, in a room that's attached to the house. I know condensate pipes can freeze up sometimes but we're not living in the Artic, a bit OTT IMO.

 

[Scott_D]

Better safe than sorry.
can you repipe and put external insulation on?

 

[Monkey Wrench]

Better safe than sorry.
can you repipe and put external insulation on?

Yes, I can repute, I guess I have no other option ! The strange thing is, there's no external frost stat installed adjacent to the boiler or anywhere so why did the installer bother ?

 

[samwilko]

That's condensulate, at least that's what it was called. British Gas were installing it on virtually all their boilers at one stage (could still be I left a few years ago now) and they re installing Potterton Precision as their budget option.
It's the black corrugated pipe you see at the boiler end wrapped in white insulation and then a thin polythene cover over that. You run the condense in inch and a half waste and then push the condensulate down the inside of it. Stops the condense freezing.
You won't be able to connect your washing machine to it as it fills up the inch a half pipe.

 

[Monkey Wrench]

That's condensulate, at least that's what it was called. British Gas were installing it on virtually all their boilers at one stage (could still be I left a few years ago now) and they re installing Potterton Precision as their budget option.
It's the black corrugated pipe you see at the boiler end wrapped in white insulation and then a thin polythene cover over that. You run the condense in inch and a half waste and then push the condensulate down the inside of it. Stops the condense freezing.
You won't be able to connect your washing machine to it as it fills up the inch a half pipe.

Thanks for that samwilko, I'm trying to think of ways of pulling the 21mm condensate and insulation out without totally repiping but I'm Struggling for a solution ???